Probationary firefighter — how serious is this off-duty conduct, and could it realistically lead to termination?
I'm looking for input from career firefighters or anyone with experience seen in other probationary firefighters and discipline.
I'm trying to understand how a department would realistically view this situation. I'm not asking anyone to decide whether someone is guilty based on my side of the story yet an honest answer is welcomed. Assume for purposes of this question that the factual events described below are supported by police reports and video.
The main issue is that a probationary firefighter became personally involved in a civilian custody-exchange situation by going to the police and involving police in the matter. The firefighter drove to the police station in advance to speak with officers at the exact time of the father's scheduled custody exchange and began telling officers random complaints and wanted the officers to talk to the father, and the father was subsequently approached and questioned by police. This is particularly concerning because, according to the father, there is a significant history of conflict surrounding the custody exchanges, including incidents that the mother has previously attempted to seriously harm and kill him, made false firearm-related allegations during custody exchanges, and used third parties to harass or involve law enforcement against him all during custody exchanges. The firefighter was already familiar with all the history between the parties, including being present during related DV court proceedings. The firefighter also knew there was significant prior history between the people involved.
The issue isn't necessarily whether he intended to “harass” the father. The question I'm really interested in is whether a department could view this as poor judgment, inappropriate off-duty conduct, misuse of police involvement, dishonesty/misrepresentation if anything inaccurate was told to police, or conduct unbecoming a firefighter.
The father then filed a police report for violation of custody order and they accepted it, and he made a compliant to the department.
How seriously would your department take something like this? Would this realistically be enough to get a probationary firefighter terminated?